


Hug

by haoships



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-06
Updated: 2020-06-06
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:35:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24567817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/haoships/pseuds/haoships
Summary: Where DK, a bubbly middle school teacher is new to the complex is neighbors with a quiet man who he almost only sees leave his house when it's raining out.What will happen if he offers the drenched guy sitting on the park bench a place under his umbrella?
Relationships: Lee Seokmin | DK/Xu Ming Hao | The8
Comments: 4
Kudos: 59





	Hug

**Author's Note:**

> Hello. I'm back with another oneshot haoship.
> 
> Hope you guys like it 😳😳
> 
> Be safe everyone! 
> 
> Kudos/comments are very much appreciated 💛❤💛
> 
> 🌟🌟🌟  
> Not beta'd  
> English is not my first language. Apologies for any errors/misspelled words  
> 🌟🌟🌟

Seokmin was on his way home when he first saw him. A lone guy sitting on a park bench in their apartment complex. It would have been a normal scenario. You know, just a guy sitting on a bench. Except it isn't because it's pouring and the guy is already drenched in rain water.

The second time he saw him, Seokmin was just coming back from a supply run. It was a Sunday, and the weather was a bit crazy. Nobody expected the rain when it was melting hot in the morning. With no umbrella on hand, Seokmin bit his tongue as he hailed a taxi to get home. The taxi was pulling up the driveway when he noticed a figure sitting on the bench, drenched. _Is that the same guy from last time?_ He thought to himself. He was pulled out of his stupor when the driver told him how much he owes.

The third time he saw him, Seokmin was walking with an old lady from the same floor as he is. He saw her squeezing herself in an old phonebooth near the bus stop, trying to get shelter from the rain. Seokmin wanted to ask grandma Yoo if he knew who the guy is but didn't. Maybe he'll save the question for later.

The fourth time he sees him, Seokmin was just coming home form work. He breathes a sigh of relief when he sees the rain starts to pour outside the window as he enters the passcode to his front door. Just as he was about to enter his house, the door next to his opens.

He's pretty sure this is the same guy he's been seeing showering outside whenever it rains. His lithe appearance and side profile tells him he can't be wrong. Except he can see him better now. His breath catches a little in his throat when he sees how pretty the guy is. Sure the guy has most of his black hair covering his eyes but when he shakes his head a little to the side, he saw the most beautiful pair of eyes he has ever seen. That's what he thinks despite having no actual spark in them.

"It's raining out." The words slipped out of his mouth.

The guy looks at him and only bows his head slightly in acknowledgement before he turns around to walk to where the elevators are.

Seokmin closes the door behind him thinking. Thinking about the guy next door. It doesn't take a genius to know he's the complete opposite of his neighbor. Seokmin is a bubbly, vibrant guy. His coworkers have nothing bad to say about him, his students adore him, the parents of his students love him so much that he barely spends anything for food because somehow the parents would take turn bringing him food (he doesn't know if it was planned or not) everyday and lots of it too that he ends up sharing them with everyone. While his neighbor.... _well_...

This is the first time he's really seen him since he moved in two months ago . Sure he saw him last few times in the rain but he didn't know him as his actual next door neighbor.

There's something sad and dark in his aura that he doesn't know what to think of it. He doesn't think his neighbor is a bad guy per se. He just thinks there's something..tragic.. yes.. that's the word. Like, he's hurting, grieving, mourning.

Seokmin puts his stuff down and went for a glass of water. He looks out the window to see how bad the weather is when a figure catches his eyes.

 _Why is he sitting out there again?_ Without much thought, Seokmin grabs his umbrella and left his apartment. His burning throat can wait.

The guy looks up when he notices the rain stopped somehow and sees a wide brimmed black umbrella over his head.

"I told you it's raining." Seokmin says nonchalantly. He watches as the guy's eyes go a little wide in surprise.

"Yes you did." He answers, looking away.

Seokmin didn't expect the guy to say anything but he's glad he did. He didn't want to give his neighbor a bad impression. He spent a couple of minutes battling with himself about whether or not to approach him but there's something about him that pulls and tugs at Seokmin's whole being. Not to mention, the voice that came out of his mouth was a little unexpected. It was the complete opposite of his appearance. He sounded angelic, his voice light and melodic, but still, there's that trace of sadness in his everything.

"How much longer are you planning on sitting out here in the rain?"

The guy looks back up at him, eyebrows scrunched, perhaps confused at the sudden inquiry. Seokmin smiles at him.

"I know you didn't ask for anything, but at this rate you're gonna get sick if you stay out here any longer. I'm a middle school teacher and I need to have my sleep and I can tell you right now, you, getting sick, will probably make me lose a little sleep.."

It was too late to take the words back. He realized a little late that this guy might take offense with what he just said. He was thinking about what he can say to salvage the situation when the guy chuckles a little. And boy was he whipped in an instant.

"Yeah.. I guess you're right. The walls are pretty thin. I should know with how I hear you singing your lungs out at 6am."

Seokmin feels his face heat up in embarrassment _. I knew I shouldn't have opened my big mouth._

"You're lucky you're a good singer. I would have filed a complaint if you weren't." The guy says standing up, walking back to the apartment complex in the rain.

Somehow, after that encounter, he sees his neighbor more often. Not just when it's raining too. He would run into him in the apartment lobby, the grocery, one time at the mall. They still don't talk much. Just a quick "hi" and "hello" which is mostly initiated by Seokmin of course. He'd be lucky if he gets a "hi" or "hello" back instead of a small nod of the head.

One night, Seokmin was browsing through his mail when an unfamiliar envelop caught his attention. _Areum Sound. Xu Minghao._

He finds himself knocking on his neighbor's door. It took a little while before he hears movements from behind the door and not long before the said door opens.

Standing before him is his neighbor who he assumes to be Xu Minghao, clad in a thick looking matching sweats looking confused and sick.

"Is this you?" Seokmin asks pushing the envelope towards him. His neighbor looks at the envelop and pulled it from his hand lightly.

"It got mixed up with my mails." He explains. The guy looks at the letter, then back up to his face.

"Thanks for bringing this over." He says, waving the enevelop a little.

"I'm Seokmin. I live next door." He introduces himself thinking this is the best time for introductions because if not now, _when?_

"Minghao. Nice to meet you." Minghao answers extending his hand for a shake which Seokmin shook gladly.

"You okay? You look sick." Seokmin couldn't really hold his tongue.

Minghao smiles a tiny bit, nodding his head a little.

"Just a little fever." Seokmin stretches his hand and feels Minghao's forehead. The man in front of him stood shocked at his actions.

"That's not a little fever. You're burning up."

"I'm fine though..no worries. Really." Minghao counters, removing Seokmin's hand from his forehead with his free hand.

Seokmin squints a little before taking a quick peek behind Minghao.

"Do you live by yourself?" He asks. Minghao blinks, unreadable expression on his face.

"Hey. I'm not a bad guy. Just wondering if there's anybody who can look after you." He sees Minghao relax a little.

"No. I live by myself."

"Did you have anything to eat?"

"I have pizza."

"That can't be good. I have soup simmering, that's better for you." Minghao blinks again. _Cute_.

"I.. I can't.. it's okay.. you don't have to.."

Seokmin gently held his wrist and pulls him over to his door. He feels Minghao resist a little.

"I need you to trust me. I'm really not a bad guy. I just want to feed you. You can ignore me the whole time if you want but I'll be damned if I let a sick guy eat pizza for dinner when I have a better food option available."

Seokmin can only smile his signature bright smile when he feels Minghao relax in his hold.

"Just dinner and then I'll walk you home."

Minghao giggles lightly and Seokmin thinks he'd do anything to see that smile and hear that laugh again.

Seokmin watches Minghao look around his apartment when they got in. It's still pretty bare since he hasn't really have much time to buy stuff for his house. There's just a comfortable couch in front of a mounted TV, a coffee table where he has his teaching materials and exam sheets waiting to be graded, a bookshelf next to the couch. His kitchen has everything he needs though and his pantry's well stocked (because he doesn't really cook on weekdays thanks to his students' parents).

"You can just take a sit. I cooked samgyetang. It's good for you."

Minghao pulls a chair and sat himself, nodding.

"Thank you. You didn't have to.."

"Shh.. I want to. I cooked enough for 4 people. You can take some home after." Seokmin answers as he pulls out spoons and chopsticks from a drawer.

"Do you live with someone?" Minghao asks.

"No. Just me too."

"Then why did you cook so much?"

Seokmins smiles as he places two cups of rice in front of his guest.

"Because I can never cook enough for just one person. I usually just keep everything in the fridge after then heat them up if I ever remember them."

"If you remember?" Seokmin chuckles, rubbing his neck.

"Sometimes I forget about it. My students'parents spoil me too much. They bring me food when they pick up their kids knowing I live by myself."

Minghao tries to smile at that. "Must be nice having people look after you."

Seokmin wasn't sure what to answer to that. He felt a little jab at his heart the way Minghao said it.

"Well, you can just knock on my door if you need anything. Also, here..." Seokmin hands him his phone. "Ring your number up so you have my number. Txt or call me if anything."

Minghao just looks at him, lips pressed together. _Aren't you a little too eager Seokmin-ah? Stop scaring your pretty neighbor!_ He mentally scolds himself.

"Or.. you can just knock.. that's okay too.." Seokmin says when he realized his neighbor probably isn't gonna take his phone and do what he's been told.

He couldn't hide his surprise when the man in front of him carefully took his phone that is now resting on the table and dials a number.

"There. I saved it too." Minghao says after giving Seokmin his phone back. Seokmin couldn't hide the smile that slowly stretched on his face.

"Eat up." He instructs, picking up his own spoon, smile still on his face.

Seokmin found out that Minghao is originally from China and has been living in Korea for 12 years. He came here to study at first, specialized in Music production and loved it here that he stayed and built a career here. Seokmin asked if he knows anything Minghao wrote or produced, the Chinese guy only smiled a little, not really answering the question.

As promised, Seokmin walked Minghao back to his room after they had dinner. Minghao insisted on doing the dishes but Seokmin pushed him gently out the door telling him he needs to rest. Joking even that the dishes could wait til he's all better. Seokmin hands him some paracetamol and other medicine Minghao didn't know what was for.

"Feel better soon. You have my number. Txt or call me if anything okay?"

Minghao nods his head.

"Thanks. For dinner and.. everything else..."

Seokmin smiles his signature bright smile.

"Anytime Hao."

The two somehow became pretty close after that. At least, that's what Seokmin likes to think. They went from barely talking to sometimes hanging out on weekends. They would go see a movie, jog in the park, play video games, watch Netflix, just basically spending time together.

Despite this new found friendship, Seokmin still couldn't help the nagging feeling that he still doesn't know who Xu Minghao is. He just knows him as his pretty neighbor he hangs out with, laugh with, run erands with, but that's it. He still hasn't opened up about what he does for a living (considering he mostly spends his time at home), he's never talked about anybody else that is not his parents (Seokmin met them once when they visited their son- he did not miss the way Mrs. Xu looked at him- a look that he could only interpret aa pleased, fond, thankful?) and he's only been invited to his apartment once (when Minghao's dad invited him over for dinner in broken Korean when they ran into each other at the lobby; Minghao was surprised when he opened the door and saw Seokmin with a bottle of wine).

All these times spent with Minghao made Seokmin _feel_ things. He knew he was physically attracted to Minghao when he first saw him up close. _He is pretty. Very much so!_ But this simple attraction turned into something much deeper and Seokmin thinks his feelings are becoming too intense for his own good.

But realistically, how can he not? When despite the fact that Minghao kinda hides his true self from him, his smiles have been genuine and beautiful, his voice never fails to bring his mood up when he's stressed from work, when he rolls his eyes at all of Seokmin's attempts on dad jokes, when he would be so warm whenever Minghao tries to comfort him with his hugs when he feels really tired, exhausted, frustrated at things.

Seokmin decided whatever he's feeling will have to wait when the weather started to change. It broke him little by little when that little sunshine he found in Minghao slowly dims. They started hanging out less and less. The atmosphere around them started to gloom at the same time the weather did. It didn't take long before he finds the Chinese man drenched on the bench again.

He remembers Minghao's mail that got mixed up in his. He hated himself for not remembering soon enough to dig a little.

Areum Sound turned out to be the company Minghao used to work for. He's a credited writer and producer and he feels the hair on his skin stood up when he sees all the songs credited to his friend. The first couple of years with Areum Sound he co-produced tracks with one other guy. Seokmin knew those songs too, the upbeat ones, happy love songs. Then it was just him producing songs on his own, most them has something to do with rain or a love lost. Most of them Seokmin knew and sings all the time. He should know them given that the songs were produced by his favorite producer The8. He remembers hearing one The8 song for the first time, something about the rain bringing comfort he loved it so much he had the song on loop for weeks.

_The rain. What is it about the rain that turns Minghao into this.. this.. sad?_

With this new discovery he decided he can't stop at that. He needs to know more. He has this sudden urge to dig deep especially with how Minghao has been acting again so he calls for reinforcement. He rings up Minghao's parents in China.

With so much difficulty, Seokmin explained to Minghao's parents what's been going on and that he wanted to help but don't know how.

"My son.. he was happy boy.. he made happy music.. he's our sunshine. But he started to change. He doesn't tell us things but we know he's changed. My son. We don't know what happened to him. But when we saw him happy again when we visited, he was happy with you. I am very thankful."

He cried himself to sleep after talking to Mrs. Xu.

The next day he called in sick. He found himself standing at the door of Areum Sound.

"Can I help you with something?" A tall man with cat-like ayes asked. Seokmin swallows a lump on his throat before he could speak.

"Do you happen to know a Xu Minghao?"

The man in front of him looked taken aback. But his eyes softens after a beat. "Are you his friend?"

Seokmin could only nod his head. "Come in to my office. I was wondering when one of you would show up."

Wonwoo, as it turned out is also Minghao's friend. But he has not heard from Minghao for years. Minghao refused to see any if them even though he still talks to some of them on the phone sometimes.

"Why didn't you just visit him? You know his address. You sent him mails. I know. It got mixed up with mine." Seokmin knows there's bite in his tone and he feels apologetic about it but he's pissed at how these _"friends"_ just left him alone.

"It was a mail. We sent it once hoping he would confirm that we had the right address but he didn't. We wanted to see him too. But we didn't think he's ready. He stopped talking to us when we sent that mail. We figured he got mad at our attempt to convince him to see us."

Wonwoo takes a deep breath, worry lines on his forehead. "How is he?"

Seokmin leans further on the couch, looking at the ceiling.

"He's.. what happened exactly?" He asked instead.

He sat up straight, looking Wonwoo in the eyes. He saw some hesitation there but his gut feel tells him this guy is going to talk. He presses on. "You said you were wondering when one of us would show up? What do you mean?"

Wonwoo stood up and walked over to where he is. He sat next to him before he speaks.

Seokmin learned that they went to school together with some others that are co-owners of Areum Sound. They put up the company straight after school with the help of one of their friend's dad who happens to be the director of their school. Everything went really well. They were making songs, songs became hits, Minghao fell in love and everything was everything they all dreamed of. Until Minghao lost the love of his life to an accident. They had a fight, Minghao stormed out in the rain. His boyfriend was out looking for him when he had an accident which then took his life. Nobody blamed him for what happened, not even his lover's parents. _It was his choice to look for you_ they had told him but they also understood the guilt that took over his whole being.

Minghao chose to leave. Saying he couldn't show his face to anybody out of guilt and shame. He blames himself for the death of the love of his life. He continued making music and they turned out to be some of the best he has made. He never took any pay for it, instead used the money to fund a charity in the memory of his late lover. The funds were used for scholarships to aspiring musicians who can't afford them.

The accident happened five years ago. Wonwoo and their friends have not seen him for that long and they'd do anything to see him again.

"Please. Look after him for us and when he's ready to see us, we'll come running."

Seokmin feels drained. Helpless. Hurt. He knows what he feels for Minghao is not just skin deep. It goes straight to the marrow of his bones. His heart aches at the thought of Minghao, the beautiful Minghao is still hurting even after all these years.

He feels desperate. He wants to help Minghao realize that there is more to life. That he is not alone and that that there is someone who wants him despite everything. If only he would open up his eyes and his heart. But most of all, he wants Minghao, his beautiful Minghao to get over the hurt.

He found Minghao unconscious on the floor in front of his apartment when he came home.

Seokmin curses himself when he sees the missed calls on his phone when it turned on. He was in so deep that he didn't realize Minghao was calling him, or when his phone died.

He sits by Minghao's side, holding his hand as the IV drips. It's been a couple of hours and Minghao is still to open his eyes. The only consolation he has were the doctor's words saying he will be okay. They both spent the night at the hospital.

Seokmin helped Minghao get settled at home before he went back to his own, promising the other that he will be back after a quick shower. He was drying his hair when he hears and feels a thunder struck somewhere close. He hurries out the door and into Minghao's. He panicked when he didn't see him where he left him, or anywhere in the house. Seokmin's heart drops to his stomach as he pushes the button of the elevator. His feet takes him to where he's always seen Minghao when it's raining.

"What the fuck Minghao?!" He screams. He's crying at this point.

"What the fuck are you doing to yourself? Stop this please!"

Minghao stares at him, mouth agape. He slowly closes his mouth and he smiles a little.

"Do you know why I'm always out here when it rains?"

"I know! I know! And this is not gonna bring him back. Punishing yourself like this is not gonna bring him back! I'm here! Why can't you see me?" Seokmin sobs, his feet gave out making him kneel on the muddy ground.

He watches as Minghao slowly walks over to where he is.

"You're right. I have been punishing myself because I still feel guilty about everything." Minghao kneels in front of him. "I told myself I'm gonna stop crying over it and it's just so easy to hide my tears when I'm out here when it rains."

Seokmin just looks at him. Focuses on his words while trying to stop his heart from breaking. Minghao meets his eyes.

"You.. do you remember when you came up to me that one time with an umbrella? The first time we met?"

Seokmin could only nod his head.

"You were the first one who came up to me and offered me shelter from the rain. You smiled so bright I felt a little warm. You're wrong Seokmin. I see you. I see all the good things you do to me. I feel whatever you want me to feel.."

"Then why?" Seokmin shakes his head. "Why are you still doing this?" He sobs.

"Because now I feel guilty for another reason. I told myself I will not love anyone else. But you came..."

Seokmin couldn't believe his ears. But what he couldn't believe even more, is when the rain slowly stops and the sky starts to clear.

Seokmin stands up and pulls Minghao to his feet.

"Hao.. I think he's trying to tell you something here.." he says as Minghao looks up at the sky in awe.

When Minghao looks back at him, his face scrunches and he started to cry even more. Seokmin pulls him close to his chest, wrapping his arms around him.

"Hao.. start over. I'll help you with every step of the way. I don't care how long it takes. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere if you'd have me. Please!" he begs.

Minghao smiles at him. The kind of smile that made his heart race. That genuine big smile he's only seen a few times on Minghao's beautiful face.

"Please.. Help me."

Seokmin smiles so wide despite his tears. By this time, the rain had completely stopped, a rainbow paints the sky above them.

**Author's Note:**

> @haoships on twt


End file.
